


Unexpected Friends

by TheLovelyPatronus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Care of Magical Creatures, Drabble, Forbidden Forest, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 15:50:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10744827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLovelyPatronus/pseuds/TheLovelyPatronus





	Unexpected Friends

There was something about the forbidden forest that drew Luna Lovegood into its depths. Most wizards were terrified to venture even a few feet in. Luna however, found herself venturing deeper and deeper every time. Where most would be scared of getting lost, she never was.

She had made connections with all of the creatures that called this forest home. From the centaurs to the pixies. They were all her friends. After all, friends were hard to come by for someone like her.

She had just started her fifth year at Hogwarts, and most of the kids avoided her. She didn’t mind it, it gave her more time to explore the castle and its grounds. Even after four years at the school, she still had not discovered all of it’s secrets. She had vowed to herself on her very first day that she would discover every nook and cranny. Just like her mother had done when she was a student here.

The forest was her favorite place to explore. The creatures there never judged her, or called her Loony for that matter. It was the only place she felt accepted. So she found herself walking through the trees, a full bag of raw meat and another full of fruits and vegetables courtesy of the Hogwarts house elves.

She came across her usual clearing, the thestrals already there and waiting for her. These creatures were her very favorite. Just like her, they were judged without really knowing what it was the strangers were judging. She walked up to her favorite one, a juvenile female that Luna had named Athena. After the Greek goddess of Wisdom. Luna had taken to Greek Mythology, It was her favorite part of her Muggle studies class.

Athena was the first to greet Luna, she nuzzled her cheek affectionately, waiting for the piece of meat she knew Luna to be hiding in her bag. These creatures were usually skittish, they avoided human contact but for her, they always showed up when they sensed her coming. 

She hated the stigma that was attached to these wonderful creatures. She regretted every day that she spent without her mother, but the silver lining of witnessing her death gave her these most important friends.

The reason she had never gotten lost in the forest was because the thestrals would always lead her out after a day full of play and flying. She spent a whole Saturday with these beautiful creatures. While they led her out through the thinning trees she reflected on the day she’d had. So what that she had no human friends? The creatures of the forest were friends enough for her.


End file.
